The war on red tape

In order to look like he’s busy doing stuff he promised to do, Harper today took to suburban Toronto to declare the War on Red Tape! Err, more specifically, he said he was going to create a committee to consult stakeholders on how to best eliminate red tape. So, creating a bureaucratic process to cut down on bureaucracy. Everyone got that? And incidentally, the Liberals started that whole process under Paul Martin. Meanwhile, Susan Delacourt suggests that the PMO can start cutting the red tape they created by getting rid of their mandated Message Event Proposals.

We now have the demands for Jack Layton to support the federal budget – boosting the CPP and GIS, cutting taxes on home heating oil and restoring the home renovation tax credit. Add that to the Liberal demands of revoking the cut to corporate taxes, and Duceppe’s demands for a “compensation” payment for Quebec’s harmonized taxes, and we now see which demands Harper will cave to – if he does at all. Harper, of course, is cool to the demands.

Harper, meanwhile, is already talking about the next election, where he’s going to campaign to eliminate the per-vote subsidy that parties get. You know, the mechanism that helps keep big corporate money out of politics, and that makes your votes count in a tangible, financial way for the party you support? Yeah, that. I’m sure he’ll dress it up about how it’ll hurt his party more, and why should the taxpayer pay for the Bloc (because people voted for them?) but it’s more pre-election messaging.

As for Ignatieff, he’s looking for more female voters to ensure a Liberal win.

In light of the whole UAE fiasco, it’s quite interesting to see that documents have revealed that Air Canada and Emirates Air tried to work out a profit-sharing agreement four years ago. Funny how Air Canada is now the one worried about their profits, and are behind this diplomatic mess.

Still suffering from presidential envy, the PMO wants the Air Force to repaint one of the planes it ferries Harper around in to be less “tactical” and be more like the paint schemes of oh, say, Air Force One. This is the old colour scheme that was changed in the early '90s, mind you, but I doubt there is enough Conservative blue on it for Harper.

That Saskatchewan anti-census crusader has been found guilty of census refusal and is due to be sentenced next week. But it’s not really the invasive questions she opposes – it’s that the software came from Lockheed Martin, a defence contractor.

And just for fun, Aaron Wherry recaps Stephen Harper’s various economic musings.